In the Library
by nothingnothingtralala
Summary: 'Her heart was thumping for some reason, and dizziness swirled in her head. She had to get away. Before she did something stupid. Now now now – ' Fluffy ficlet, as per. Oneshot.


_Hey everyone! This is something I actually wrote on request. My boyfriend is confused by the concept of fanfic and wanted an example of it and my writing. He's a bit soppy, so this was the result. Note that it's not explicitly about Labyrinth (he gets equally confused by that) but in my sneaky way it also is... It's also exactly one thousand words, so that's pretty cool. You can make up your own context, but it's something along the lines of Sarah (in denial as usual) helping a sneaky Jareth to "sort his library". He's so clever..._

_P.S. As some of you GSUV readers will know, I'm off to Italy... TODAY. My flight leaves this afternoon. Eek. So what would be amazing is some reviews when I get there. For moral support n stuff. :D _

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"Pass me the red one," he directed, pointing to a book that lay at her feet. She bent down to retrieve it, holding it reverently. _A Book of Myths and Legends._

"All of these are so old. It's amazing." She could practically feel history coming off the book, along with clouds of dust and a nostalgic smell of dry, rustling paper. "I wish I had a library like this." She glanced up at him, a few feet above her on the stepladder, and then wished she hadn't; he had that look on his face again, the one that might possibly have meant _well if you want, you can have this one_. Hastily she held the volume up for him to take, hoping that he didn't notice how her hands were shaking.

His fingers touched hers, and she started, nearly dropping the book, at the electric shock that shot through her. His hands were warmer than she'd expected them to be, somehow, and her cheeks flushed red. "Sorry," she stammered, and turned away, trying to avoid his curious gaze.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Which one next?" She was speaking quickly, too quickly, words stumbling over one another. He didn't answer, and she could feel his grey-blue eyes on her still. Her breathing caught in her chest. What was wrong with her? _Snap out of it._ "We've already made a difference in the room," she gabbled, making a sweeping gesture that included most of the library. "I reckon it'll only take a couple more days and all the books will be sorted – oh!"

He'd come down the ladder, moving silently as he always did, and was standing right behind her, so that when she turned round to address him she took an involuntary step back, craning her neck to look at him – why was he so damn _tall_? Her heart was thumping for some reason, and dizziness swirled in her head. She had to get away. Before she did something stupid. _Now now now –_

"Is something the matter?" he asked, genuine concern showing in his face. Her cheeks flamed. She looked at the floor, mumbling.

"No, I – "

She stopped abruptly, her sentence ending in a ridiculous little squeak of surprise, when a strong hand caught her chin and raised it upwards, forcing her to look at him.

"Tell me."

She looked at him, unable to tear her gaze away, and her thoughts scattered. His eyelashes were incredibly long; why hadn't she noticed that before?

"You've been acting like a scared rabbit all day," he went on, his eyes never leaving hers. _He's standing so close to me. I think I might faint. What the hell is wrong with me?_

"It's – " Her words stuck in her throat. The warmth of his hand on her face was unbalancing her too much. He narrowed his eyes just a fraction, as if he was listening to her thoughts, and then his expression softened and he let go of her chin, raising his hand to her cheek. Slowly, incredibly gently, he let his fingers stroke the soft skin over her cheekbone. It was a touch so light it was barely tangible, but it felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath her feet and she was falling. She went perfectly still, staring at him wide-eyed.

He never smiled; his gaze was too intense, searching hers for an answer to a question she hadn't quite deciphered yet.

"It's what?" he whispered.

She couldn't breathe. All she knew was that she had to look away _now right now_ if she wanted to break the spell, only somehow she couldn't because his eyes were somehow the most beautiful things she had ever seen and that look on his face was making her whole body tremble and melt and go to pieces.

His eyebrows drew together for a second, and then he reached a decision, and he bent his head and kissed her.

Her eyes fluttered closed immediately, and for a second she registered nothing except pure panic and adrenaline. At first it was just a touch of lips on lips, the room around them holding its breath.

Then his hands found her waist and pulled her close to him, as close as possible, so close that there wasn't a millimetre of space between them, and she was holding onto his shoulders and standing on her tiptoes because he was still too damn tall, and his mouth was warm and soft and tender and yet hungry at the same time, and warmth was beginning to burn through her and make her breathing speed and her heart race. His hands came up to touch her face, pushing her hair behind her ears, and then slipped down to her back, and she was burying her fingers in the softness of his hair, and now both of them were breathing fast, but the kiss was far too good to break for the minor consideration of oxygen – her heart was going to beat right out of her chest – and he stumbled backwards and landed against the bookshelves, and she followed, leaning up against him, still reaching up on her toes so that she could kiss him back as fervently as he was kissing her, and the whole world was shattering around them.

When they finally did break apart, it was because both of them were entirely out of breath. He kept hold of her, though, as if he was afraid he'd lose her if he loosened his grip for one moment, and still his eyes looked into hers. She smiled at the look of amazed surprise there, and to hear his breathing hitch.

"You," he whispered.

"Well, yes," she returned, somehow finding her confidence in the face of his vulnerability, and it seemed the most natural thing in the world to place her hands on his warm, smooth neck – she could feel the pulse beating just under her fingers – and pull him down so that she could kiss him again.

The books could wait.

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_I can has reviews?_


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